She is also known for writing "Mary Had a Little Lamb"

hospital in the medieval Islamic world

Most people know that the blue-hatted Los Angeles Dodgers were once the Brooklyn Dodgers. But while you may have assumed that the “Dodgers” moniker referred to avoiding a tag or stealing a base, the true story is more complicated. That’s because the Brooklyn…

Penicillin extracted from a patient's urine could be reused

The outcomes for Madoff's victims — as many as 37,000 people in 136 countries — vary widely. They are the result of a deeply controversial process for unwinding the fraud that is still playing out to this day, having set precedents — and cautionary tales…

Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Europe and Asia. The eight countries which consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existence…

high-proof distilled spirit, generally produced illicitly

French professional wrestler and actor (1946-1993)

computer worm

New York County, coterminous with the New York City borough of Manhattan, is the most densely populated U.S. county, with a density of 70,825.6/mi2 (27,267.4/km2) as of 2013. In 1910, it reached a peak of 101,548/mi2 (39,222.9/km2). The county is one of the…

England and Wales introduce less strict divorce laws, but ending an unhappy marriage is still not possible everywhere in the world

The falling green characters at the beginning of all of the Matrix films have become perhaps the most recognisable visual from the film, signifying how everything in the franchise's universe is a vast fabrication.

Posted in r/todayilearned by u/zipperfall • 198 points and 25 comments

species of plant

American inventor

Euromonitor data shows which countries are drinking the most hard liquor.

American actor, director and film producer (1955-2017)

"Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was released as their debut single in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January that…

Josh Marshall writes: